Shoe rack



Mmh 10, 1942. T. L. ATKINSON 2,276,141

SHOE RACK Filed Nov. 14, 1941 7 \hVQYd OT Tmman L. KMngon Patented Mar.10, 1942 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE RACK Truman L. Atkinson,Ludington, Mich.

Application November 14, 1941, Serial No. 419,046 8 Claims. (01. 211-s7This invention relates in general to racks for supporting variousarticles thereon and is shown in this particular instance as beingapplied to a shoe rack.

Th invention is most useful wherein a plurality of rods or similarsupporting means extend between end members, and resides specifically inthe means by which the ends of the rods or supporting means are clampedor held in place against the nd members.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of end members ina device of this character provided with means which are so formed as toreceive and hold the ends of the elongated supporting rods.

A further object of the invention is the provision of end members havingspaced apart legs provided with bracing means between the legs which areso formed as to receive the ends of the elongated supporting rods.

Another object of the invention is to form the bracing means between thelegs of a flexible or spring material which will be capable of having asufficient force as to successfully clamp the ends of the rods in place.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of loops in thedownturned ends of the bracing means to receive the ends of the rods,such loops forming an opening with the adjacent leg, which opening issmaller than the end of the rod which it receives, thereby placing atension between the bracing member and the adjacent leg whereby the rodis clamped and held in place.

A still further object is to form these loops so that the openingbetween them and the adjacent leg will be larger at each end than in thecenter thereof to thereby facilitate entrance of the rod therein.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will appear more fully asthe description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawing and following description set forth in detailcertain means for carrying out my invention, said means constituting,however, but one of various ways in which the principle of the inventionmay be employed.

In said annexed drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to likeparts throughout the various views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a shoe rack embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevation showing one of thebracing means before a rod is inserted in the loops provided therein.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 after the loops have received therods, and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through one of the loops showing theopening at each end thereof slightly enlarged.

While, for purposes of convenience in illustrating the invention, a shoerack has been specifically designated, it is to be understood that theinvention may be applied equally as well to other devices withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit thereof.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, I have illustrated endmembers having a substantially inverted U-shaped form to provide frontleg members I and rear legs 2 connected at their upper ends by anarcuate portion 3. In

each end member one or more braces 4 may be located each of whichextends between the front and rear legs I and 2. The rear end of eachbrace may be turned downwardly as at 5 so as to be substantiallyparallel to the rear leg 2 and bear flush thereagainst. Likewise thefront of each brace 4 is turned downwardly as at 6 in the same mannerand these downturned ends 5 and 6 may be secured to the respective legs2 and I by welding or any other desired means- While the same effect maybe had regardless of whether the ends of the braces are turned upwardlyor downwardly, for convenience herein they have been shown as beingturned downwardly. In this case. then, the rear end 5 of each brace 4has an inwardly extending loop 1 formed therein a short distance abovethe point where such end is secured to the leg. Likewise the frontdownturned end 6 is provided with an inwardly extending loop 8 a shortdistance above the point where the front end is secured to its adjacentleg. It will be evident that each loop in conjunction with the adjacentleg against which the downturned end of a brace bears will form anopening to receive the ends of elongated rod members 9 or an equivalentstructure. In the form illustrated the rods 9 are tubular and are allsecured to one end member, and rods H] are secured to the opposite endmember and are adapted to slide within the tubes 9 thereby providing atelescoping arrangement for adjusting the length of the rack. In someinstances, however, it may be desirable to dispense with the ad-'justable feature in which case the opposite ends of the rods 9 wouldthen be received in the loops in the opposite end member.

It is preferable that both the end members and the braces which extendbetween the legs thereof be formed of a flexible strap metal, but itwould be suificient if one or the other would be formed of such amaterial so long as at least one side of each opening which receives theends of the rods is flexible. The openings provided by the loops and theadjacent leg members are smaller than the ends of the rods which theyreceive so that when the rods are inserted in these openings a tensionwill be set up primarily in the braces themselves and possibly in theleg 5 members as well which provides a clamping action to secure therods in place.

Fig. 3 illustrates clearly the condition of each brace and the legs onan end member before the ends of the rods are inserted in the loops.

Fig. 4 illustrates clearly the condition of the various elements afterthe rods have been inserted. Due to the flexible nature of the brace itwill be seen that the downturned ends of each brace will be forcedinwardly toward each other and that portion thereof which extendsbetween the legs will be bowed slightly downwardly. It will be evidentthat two forces cooperate in holding the rods in place.

6 to return to their normal position abutting against the adjacent leg,and the other force will be exerted by that portion 4 of the braceextending between the legs which tends to return thatportion to itsnormal straight position.

After the formation of the end members with the braces thereon as abovedescribed, the rods may be assembled therewith easily and quickly byinserting the ends of the rods in the loops where they will be securelyheld without the necessity of any additional securing means, the tensionof the brace as above explained being sufiicient for this purpose. Itwill also be evident in this particular construction that a certainamount of flexibility in the leg .portions themselves will permit asmall amount of give, which amount would ordinarily be greater if thebraces were not formed of such material. It may be mentioned here thatthe braces adjacent the bottom of the legs may not be bowed quite asmuch as those braces thereabove because of the fact that the legsthemselves may be spread slightly. Nevertheless, the inherent tension inthe various parts as above outlined will be suflicient regardless of thelocation of the braces to securely hold the rods in place.

To facilitate the insertion of the ends of the rods in the openingsprovided by the loops and their adjacent leg members, since the openingsthemselves are smaller than the rods, the loops are preferably formed asshown in Fig. 5 wherein the material at each end thereof is flaredslightly away from the adjacent leg portion as shown at H. Each .end ofthe opening then will be large enough to receive the end of -a rod for ashort distance, when the rod is then forced entirely through the openingthe distance of the center thereof from the adjacent leg will be smallenough to set up the tension and thereby securely hold the rods inplace.

Other modes of applying the rinciple of my invention may be used insteadof the one here described, .change being .made as regards the structureherein disclosed provided, however, that themeans-stated by-any of thefollowing claims One force will be the tendency of the downturned endportions 5 and all.

or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention:

1. A device of the class described comprising, end members formed of alength of strap metal bent in the form of an inverted U, a brace offlexible sheet metal extending between the legs of each end member, theends of each brace being turned downwardly parallel to the adjacent legof each end member and secured thereto, an inwardly extending loop inthe end of each brace above the point where it is secured to the leg ofthe end member to thereby form an opening with the adjacent leg having aflexible side, rods extending between the end members to supportarticles thereon, the ends of said rods being received in said openings,and said openings being smaller than the ends of said rods, whereby theflexibility of a side of each opening will clamp andhold the rods inplace.

'2. The combination of elements defined in claim 1, wherein saidopenings are larger at the ends thereof than in the center, tofacilitate entrance of the rods therein.

3. A device of the class described comprising, end members having spacedapart legs thereon, a brace of flexible material extending between thelegs of .each end member, the ends of each brace being turned downwardlyparallel to the adjacent leg and secured thereto, an inwardly extendingloop in the end of each brace above the point where vit is secured tothe leg of the end member to thereby form an opening with the adjacentleg, rods extendingbetween said end members to support articles thereon,the ends of said rods being received in said openings, and said openingsbeing smaller than the ends of said rods, whereby the loops will beforced away from the adjacent legs and clamp the rods inplace.

4. A device of the class described comprising, end members having spacedapart supporting legs thereon, a brace of flexible material extendingbetween the legs of each end member, the ends of each brace being turnedto a plane substantially parallel with the adjacent leg and securedthereto, an inwardly extending loop in the turned end of each bracespaced a short distance from the point where such end is secured to theleg, said loop in conjunction with the adjacent leg thereby forming anopening, rods extending between said endmembers to support articlestherein, the ends of saidrods being received in said openings, and saidopenings being smaller than the ends of said rods whereby the loops willbe forced .away from the adjacent legs and clamp the rods in place.

5. The'combination of elements defined in claim 4, wherein the ends ofeach loop are spaced a greater distance from its adjacent leg than thecenter thereof, to facilitate entrance of the rod therein.

6. A device of the class described comprising, end members having spacedapart supporting legs, a braceextending between the legs of each endmember having its ends bent to abut against said legs, each end :of thebrace being secured to the adjacent leg a distance from the bend in saidbrace, an inwardly extending loop in each end of the brace between thebend therein and the point where it is securedto the adjacent leg, androds extending between said end members, the endof a rod beingreceivedand clamped between a loop and the adjacent leg.

'7. A device of the class described comprising,

end members having spaced apart supporting legs thereon, bracing meansbetween the legs of each end member, a plurality of article supportingmeans extending between said end members, and means integral with saidbracing means to clamp the ends of said supporting means against thelegs of the end members.

8. A device of the class described comprising, end members having spacedapart supporting legs thereon, bracing means between the legs of eachend member, a plurality of article supporting means extending betweensaid end members, and loops integral with said' bracing means betweenwhich and the legs the ends of the supporting means are received toclamp the ends of said supporting means against the legs of'the endmembers.

TRUMAN L. ATKINSON.

